This year Paige Harp, coordinator of the Infant Through Grade 12 (IG12) efforts of the Missouri State University Libraries, is serving as chair of the jurors who will decide the fourth annual SEE-IT awards, sponsored by EBSCO. The shortlist of finalists will be announced this spring, and the award will be made during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in late June. 

According to EBSCO, “The SEE-IT (Stories Engagingly Expressed — Illustratively Told) Awards were created to recognize and showcase the year’s best graphic novels written by youth authors. Since its inception, there have been three winners: The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded, by Jim Ottaviani, The Witch Boy, by Molly Knox Ostertag and Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson.” 

EBSCO’s spotlight on Paige notes, “When it comes to selecting jurors for the SEE-IT Awards, there are certain criteria the committee is looking for, including librarians who have a minimum of an accredited MLS/MLIS or equivalent and a background in graphic novel collection development. One juror who meets, and far exceeds such criteria, is Paige Harp, the Coordinator of Infant Through Grade 12 Resources and a member of the Children’s and Young Adult Book Review Board of Missouri at Missouri State University’s Meyer Library in Springfield. A self-admitted “geek,” Harp loves comics and graphic novels and explained why this genre is so important for youth readers.”

Congratulations, Paige!